Keep America Beautiful,Inc.(KAB)has announced the winners of the 2012 Graffiti Hurts Grant Program.This year,KAB provided four$2,500 cash grants as well as two$2,500 paint supply certificates from The Sherwin-Williams Company.Q-Star also provided a FlashCAM,valued at$6,100,to one deserving recipient.The FlashCAM is a deterrent system effective in preventing illegal trespassing during hours it most often occurs.
"The recipients of this year's Graffiti Hurts Grant Program remind us how powerful volunteer action can be in solving a community's challenges,"said Matthew McKenna,president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful."We're grateful to The Sherwin-Williams Company for its ongoing support of the Graffiti Hurts program,a nationwide resource for addressing graffiti problems.
Responding to the blight of graffiti vandalism,the Graffiti Hurts program was developed in 1996 through a partnership between Keep America Beautiful,the nation's largest nonprofit education and volunteer action organization,and The Sherwin-Williams Company,maker of Krylon paint.The Graffiti Hurts Grant Program was initiated in 2007.According to the U.S.Department of Justice,graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems,reduced retail sales,and declines in the value of surrounding residential and commercial property.
"The Graffiti Hurts Grant Program provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the attendant costs of graffiti vandalism and the creative solutions that these local partners employ to eradicate blight,"said Harvey Sass,president and general manager,Diversified Brands Division,The Sherwin-Williams Company."Sherwin-Williams is very proud to lend support for these award-winning local initiatives.
